Home Affairs to do away with biometric process for SA flyers

South Africans travelling abroad will in future be exempt from a controversial biometric system at the country’s international airports says Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba.

Gigaba says Home Affairs has realised that the system has been causing major delays with flights to and from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

The Home Affairs Department introduced the system for all travellers leaving and entering South Africa a year ago.

Home Affairs spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete says regular travellers will not be required to queue to submit information.

Tshwete says, “We would give travellers assurances that once your information has been captured in our system, it remains in our system. As time goes on you will see the travel on time improves drastically because many people are frequent travellers and will not require the long process of submitting information when they do come for the second time. They would go through a shorter process.”